A Fine Line
by Jess S1
Summary: BtVSSG1 When Senator Kinsey moves to shut the SGC down; the President makes a desperate move to save it by selling the Stargate to the Watchers and Slayers Council. Will this help or hinder the program?
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy & Fox. Star Gate SG-1 belongs to MGM TV Entertainment and probably someone else.  
AN: Hi! I've been trying to think of a crossover for these two series for a while, and though this one may seem a bit unpractical it works... And I find it amusingand I've seen worse, and so have you if you've read even a fraction of the crossovers I've read.**

**Warnings:**

**1) This is based on the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2, but the SGC have already allied themselves with the Tok'ra, Jacob is already blended with Selmac. I know that that doesn't make a lot of sense in regards to the part of the story this is placed in, but... tough; writer's license.**

**2) Anya didn't die at the end of Season 7. Just because.**

**Anyway, I'll probably babble a bit at the end, but until then, enjoy!**

**A Fine Line**

_**Prologue: Money Makes the World Go Round**_

"I understand your concern, Mr. President, but the Appropriations Committee has voted. The United States is not benefiting from this project—"

"The human race—"

"Can take care of itself. We are not responsible for all of humanity, only for the ones that pay taxes here. And this is a waste of their money."

"Do you have any _idea_ of what you are doing—"

"Of course I do, Mr. President." The President could practically see the iniquitous grin Senator was wearing on the other side of the phone line. "I've been at this a long time. We don't need another mistake like the Initiative. And that mistake didn't spend anywhere near the amount of money that this one does, yet we were able to see at least _some_ results—"

"There have been results."

"Minute, insignificant ones perhaps," the Chairman conceded, "but nothing to justify spending a billion dollars each year on lighting the facility alone. No, this project is a mistake, as I will explain to the commanders posted there when we visit tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your flight, Mr. President; I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"_Kinsey_—" the President stopped as the line went dead. After a moment he heaved a frustrated sigh as he slammed the receiver back into the cradle, glaring at the instrument simply because it was the vessel by which the Senator had caused his distress.

It was true that the Stargate teams hadn't been bringing much back that the military benefited from. Nonetheless, on the grounds of historians, scientists, doctors and countless other practitioners of higher learning, the device's full potential hadn't even come _close_ to realization yet. And they also knew that they had an enemy out there, far away perhaps, but one that was a threat to all humanity, and could most definitely come here.

So what then could they do?

He sighed, bringing his hands up to his head to massage his temples, where a headache was beginning to make itself known.

The checks and balance system that served as a safety in the U.S. government were an ingenious invention, but they could so easily be used to do harm, as this case showed. He could take this to the Senate, but then the Stargate and all of the activities of the SGC would need to be made public. And even he knew that the public was nowhere near ready for this. None of them really were, but they had no choice now...

He paused suddenly, his eyes falling upon the pen that was sitting in a semi-ornate holder on his desk. It had been a gift, from a very special group of people, a little over two years ago; in gratitude for the financial aid he'd sent them to help them restart an international organization that had been in existence longer then many modern nations. He hadn't been the only one, so he had no doubt many other nations leaders had received similar tokens of gratitude, but it had been a clear attempt to bridge the gap that the Initiative and decades of politics had made between the government and these people.

This was what they handled everyday, in a way. It was a little different, but they considered Earth, and all of it and all of its intrinsic inhabitants, theirs to protect. That's what the board behind the Initiative had voted on. He'd signed it through. Only one or two people out of that small group had disagreed, and Kinsey hadn't been one of them...

After one more moment's consideration he nodded, bringing his hand down to the phone and pressing the button that would get one of the secretaries' attention. A moment later the call came through.

"Yes, Mr. President?"

"Ms. Thomas, could you get me the number for the W.S.C. Head, please? A Mr. Rupert Giles?"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Several days later, after sitting through the joke of an interview Senator Kinsey conducted, and later watching as his flag team committed a court marshal able offense, soon after discovering that they had done so in order to save the world from an imminent assault, and then facing the reality of the fact that they had probably been on one of the Goa'uld vessels that had been destroyed so close to their world, Major General George Hammond was not entirely sure he wanted to leave see why Major Davis had activated the alarms, but he did so anyway. 

"Incoming traveler! Incoming traveler!" After a moment the Major glanced back at his commander, "It's SG-1's signal sir."

More then a little bit surprised at that good news, the General nodded, "Open the iris."

The trinium enforced titanium iris sections slid open to reveal the Gate horizon, which rippled a moment later as Daniel Jackson stumbled through. "Dr Jackson! Was SG-1 aboard one of those ships?"

Daniel blinked, looking up at the Control Room and replying after a moment's hesitation, "Ah, yes?"

General Hammond frowned, shaking his head, "Well, well how did you get…"

The doctor cut him off, "There was a Stargate aboard the ship we were on. So once I realized we were close enough to use Earth as a point of origin, I dialed P3X 984."

"The Alpha site?"

"Yeah," Daniel frowned, "well they called it the Beta site in the alternate reality."

Hammond nodded, then forcing his voice to remain neutral, "Where's the rest of SG-1?"

The next few hours passed with surprising speed, considering the number of phone calls the General had to make in order to send a U.S. space shuttle up into orbit to find his missing insubordinate subordinates. But after hearing the Endeavor's pilot confirm that they had spotted two strange space vessels and were bringing them in, and then watching the reunion between the members of SG-1 as he finally met Teal'c's mentor, he couldn't really bring himself to care.

"Master Bra'tac," he smiled as he came up to meet the senior Jaffa, "Words cannot express our gratitude."

"You are Hammond of Texas?" the Jaffa inquired, as the group came to a stop.

"I am." The General nodded, wondering what exactly SG-1 had said about him to make his name so memorable without ever actually meeting him.

The Jaffa bowed his head respectfully, offering a small smile as he raised it again to mee the General's eyes, "Your warriors serve you well."

"I know they will be sorry to see you return home so soon."

"I must return, before word of our rebellion reaches Chulak. My place is there." Bra'tac replied, before nodding to Captain Carter, shaking hands with Colonel O'Neill and gently touching his former pupil's face in farewell.

"This way, sir," the Major requested after it became apparent that the Jaffa was now ready to leave, "we want to ask you some questions before you leave."

Bra'tac nodded before following him out of the room.

"Not a bad day at all." O'Neill commented, offering his teammates half a smile.

"SG1," Hammond offered after a moment's silence, realizing what it was that might be clouding their moods, "there's someone who'd like to see you." With a slight smile he stepped aside to reveal their missing teammate, who was moving out from behind several of the gathered Airmen.

Captain Carter's smile brightened in relief, "Daniel!"

The Colonel also smiled, moving over to meet the man that he had thought dead aboard one of the enemy space ships they'd destroyed a short time before, he hesitated only a moment before hugging the other man, "_Space_ _monkey_. Yeah!"

After O'Neill released him, Carter also moved over to hug Daniel, and everyone began congratulating each other.

Before it could get out of hand, the General chose to make the morning meeting that the team had to be present for known. "SG1." Once everyone had gone quiet, he nodded, "Enjoy the rest of the day. At 0900 tomorrow morning, the President and Senator Kinsey will be coming to reevaluate the Stargate's import."

"So we're not being shut down?" Daniel asked, smiling at the thought.

Hammond sighed as he turned towards the doorway, shaking his head as he called over his shoulder, "I should hope not, but only time will tell."

* * *

And so it was early the next morning that saw them in the same briefing room they'd been in several days before, watching as the man that had only days before told them that they were a hoax or waste of some sort stumbled over politically correct adjustments. 

"Well, in retrospect, the board may be willing to reassess the value of the Stargate project." The Senator allowed, forcing himself to keep a smile pasted on his face at the smug look on Colonel O'Neill's face. "The N.I.D. will, of course, be expecting full reports along with anything of value the SGC teams find—"

"No, they will not." The President's interruption caught the attention of everyone around the table, including the Colonel, who'd stopped halfway through the process of rolling his eyes. The Executive Officer of the United States of America hadn't said much throughout the duration of the whole meeting. After congratulating SG-1 on a job well done and thanking them for their heroism, he'd chosen to remain silent and simply listen throughout the duration of the meeting, most of which had simply been the Senator admitting defeat in the face of irrefutable evidence.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. President?" Kinsey demanded, not bothering to conceal his shock, which was quickly giving way to outrage. "Of course they will. The Stargate Command is a branch of the military; they have to turn everything over to Intelligence."

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean, sir?" Colonel O'Neill inquired uncertainty clearly written across his face.

"The Stargate is not the property of the United States Military any longer. It became the property of the W.S.C. a short time before 8 o'clock yesterday morning."

Utter silence hung around the room for several minutes before the Senator in question lost it. "What...What... Are you an _idiot?!_" He shouted as he leapt to his feet, his face reddening with his palpable ire. "You-You sold it to...to _them?!_"

"No, I don't believe I am. And yes, I did."

"How...When...Why..."

"As I stated earlier, the Stargate became theirs when I signed the agreement, which transferred control and ownership of the Stargate to the Watcher and Slayers Council for eight billion dollars." He offered an obviously fake, but nonetheless pleasant smile. "That more then covers any debt this program has caused, with interest. As for why... Well, I should think that the necessity of SG-1's actions is a perfect answer for that."

"But...but..."

"This is no longer a government funded or operated project. It's true this isn't quite the sort of thing the Council generally handles, but they'll adjust, they always have." The President looked across the table, nodding to the very clearly shocked General. "One of my secretaries is making arrangements to negotiate use of the Stargate with Council Representatives. A meeting should be scheduled within the next few days." Then he looked back at the Senator who'd caused the vast majority of the problems that had plagued the SGC the last few days. "As this is no longer a financial matter for the United States government, the Appropriations Committee does not need a representative at the meeting... Good afternoon, Senator."

* * *

"So what is this thing? A mini-Hellmouth?" Xander asked. 

"Actually, 'Chapa'ai' translates literally to 'Doorway to Heaven,'" Giles replied tiredly as they continued to look over the many files several secret service men had brought to his door some time that morning.

"Hmm...Doorway to Heaven vs. Mouth of Hell," Xander pretended to consider it. "Yeah, I think I'll like this more. What'd you think, Wills?"

"I don't know," the Witch sighed as she scanned another mission report. "I mean, this is the military that was running it, and they'll probably want to stay involved too. But..." she shook her head, "This doesn't sound all that much like the Initiative."

"Aliens versus Demons..." Xander nodded again, his humorous effort slightly dulled by the patch he still wore across his left eye. "Yeah, a bit of difference there."

"Not really," Buffy shook her head, before glancing up at her Watcher. "Why haven't we heard about these -- what'd they call them? ...Snakeheads? – Why haven't we heard of them before, Giles?"

"We have." The Englishman replied, setting the file he'd been reading down to take out a handkerchief before removing his glasses from their proper resting place to clean them, before placing them carefully atop his nose once more. "There are references to the Goa'uld historically. Several Slayers were sent against them before the Council was able to engineer a rebellion that a final Slayer led to drive them back into the 'Chapa'ai,' before burying it. The Council had set up a watch around Giza, Egypt, to make sure it was never dug up..." he shrugged, "Apparently they failed."

"Lazy Watchers?" Xander smirked.

"No, a Slayer native to Egypt was called and one of them was assigned to her. When he was killed, the other took his place."

"There were only two there in the first place?" Willow asked incredulously.

Giles shrugged once again. "As the centuries past the Council doubted the Goa'uld ever being capable of returning, so they reassigned people occasionally, or more often then not, didn't assign new Watchers when the older ones that were Watching there died."

"And when nobody was Watching, somebody dug the gate up and 'voila!' intergalactic warfare." Willow shook her head.

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, looks like that, doesn't it?"

"So _is_ this thing some _kind_ of Hellmouth?" Xander raised his hands defensively when all of them looked at him. "I'm just saying that the base is just outside of Colorado Springs, and the things that go bump in the night around there..."

"Are not quite as active as they were in Sunnydale, but there is more activity then there should be." Giles sighed, shaking his head. "A valid point. The Chapa'ai is not a Hellmouth, however it is a mode of transportation across great distances, which may affect the dimensional barriers."

"And the Stargate isn't active twenty-four seven, just often." Willow nodded, "So it's nowhere near as strong as a Hellmouth, but it could very well be a demon magnet of some kind."

"Well of course it is," Anya offered with a shrug. "Demons are always attracted to the paranormal. That's why many humans have this natural reflex to ignore paranormal activity. If they're normal, demons wouldn't be quite as interested."

"But Vampires attacked plenty of normal people in Sunnydale." Willow objected.

"That was Sunnydale," Buffy pointed out, "the Hellmouth, upon which normal does not exist."

"Right," Anya nodded absentmindedly as she flipped through more files, apparently actually interested in the contents. "And Vampires aren't really normal demons. They're half-breeds; part human. Therefore the rule doesn't really apply to them. There's a part of them that still wants to be part of the human world. At least for a few centuries."

"Anya, are you actually reading any of that?" Giles demanded after a few moments of silence, clearly bewildered by the speed she was flipping through the files at.

"Hmm?" the Vengeance Demon looked up in surprise, blinking for a moment before the inquiry registered. "Oh...No, of course not. I'm just looking for anything that might be worth something." At the confused looks she was getting all around she sighed, "_What?_ We paid a fortune for it, and with all of the worlds out there, there must be something of value we could get from it!"

"Aside from the preservation of humanity and all life on this Earth?" Giles smiled, shaking his head in fond amusement.

Major General George Hammond of the Stargate Command sighed, shaking his head as he entered the conference room once more a few hours later, to see many of the SGC personnel, SG-1 among them, waiting.

"He actually sold the Stargate?" Colonel Jack O'Neal asked after the general had taken his seat at the head of the table and a few moments of silence had passed. "How could he _sell_ the Stargate?"

Hammond shook his head once again, "I'm as surprised as you are, Jack. But this does keep the program going, and the President believes that this group is up to handling the task..."

"On the plus side," Daniel Jackson offered with a shrug, "it won't be going into storage for an undetermined amount of time. It means that we can keep researching."

"And we can keep it out of the N.I.D.'s hands," Major Samantha Carter added.

Jack nodded, "Well, that's a plus... but how could he expect _any_ civilian organization to handle this?"

"According to the President, this organization is tied in some way to every nation on the planet," the General replied, frowning, "and 'the safety of the world is in their hands every day, and has been since before written history began.'"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know, Colonel, I don't know..." After a few moments, Hammond shook his head. "What I do know is that the President and Senator Kinsey will be staying for a while longer to help us negotiate a partnership with this 'S.W.C.' Hopefully, they'll be willing to trust our experience and allow most of our trained personnel to stay."

End Prologue.

AN: Well, what'd you think? I've had this one floating around at home for a while, so I figured I'd just get it up. Is it worth continuing? (And yes, I'm still working on my other stories too, don't worry about that. If you review, please keep the feedback to _this_ story.)

Bye!

Jess S


	2. Welcome to the SGC?

**Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy & Fox. Star Gate SG-1 belongs to MGM TV Entertainment and probably someone else.  
AN: Hi! I've been trying to think of a crossover for these two series for a while, and though this one may seem a bit unpractical it works... And I find it amusing and I've seen worse, and so have you if you've read even a fraction of the crossovers I've read.

* * *

**

**Summary: **When Senator Kinsey moves to shut the SGC down, the President makes a desperate move to save it...by selling the Stargate to the Council. How will this affect the program? Will it help or hinder it?

**Dedication**: To my numerous, kind and patient reviewers. Sorry for the long wait. Enjoy!

* * *

**A Fine Line**

**_Chapter 1: Welcome to Star Gate Command...And All It Entails_**

* * *

"So..." Xander looked around at the other members of the Scooby gang; who were also the heads of one of the most powerful organizations on the planet through their positions on the Watchers and Slayers Council. "Who's going to see the 'Doorway to Heaven' with me?"

"When did we decide you were going?" Buffy inquired, amusement clearly evident in her eyes.

"Hey, come on! Soldier Boy, remember? Why shouldn't I be one of the ones to go? I'd be more useful there then attempting to research different demons or calling out tips to newbies from the sidelines of scuffle."

"You just want to see the Stargate." The Slayer replied, smiling slightly.

"Well, yes," the one-eyed former construction work shrugged, "But it still makes sense!"

"In that case," she turned her attention to her watcher and other best friend. "I should probably go too."

"Why?" Xander's one-eyed blink of exaggerated bewilderment was a pale comparison to what it had once been, but it still carried the same effect.

"Initiative, remember?" Buffy replied. "Anyone that knows about us is going to know about me. And I did technically work with the Initiative for a while. I might be able to get a better read on the project."

"She has a point," Willow offered to the oldest members of their gang.

"True," the head of the new Council sighed, "But as the only one hear with any real in-depth knowledge of the Chapa'ai and the history surrounding it, I should undoubtedly attend as well."

"I need to go to inspect the magical effects and employ of the Chapa'ai," the redhead offered with a wince, "If we are really going to be taking this on full-time, then we need it. If not...I'd feel a lot better about this if we at least have at least an estimation of it."

"So we're all going."

Everyone looked at the former Vengeance Demon.

"What?" Anya demanded, glaring at them. "We have to have at least one Slayer with us, and it's not like we don't have plenty to spare. But Buffy's right. So she should be the appointed Slayer. We should have someone with some military expertise with us, and as ironic as the fact is, Xander has it. We need a Watcher with us, and Giles is the only one that you three trust at all. We need a witch, and Willow's the best, if not the only good witch with combative abilities. And I have to go. So we all have to go."

"Why do you have to go?" Xander asked of his former-fiancée.

"Well none of you care about how much money we're spending!"

* * *

"I still can't believe that he sold the Stargate."

"We know, Colonel. Most of us have trouble grasping that too, but it is done. Let us move on, please."

"Yes, sir."

General Hammond rolled his eyes, glancing up as a young marine, fairly new to the SGC, entered the room. "What is it, Private?"

"Sir, the President is here to see you, sir."

Ignoring his second in command's mouthing of 'again?', the General nodded. "Then by all means, show him in, son."

The President smiled as he stepped into the room a moment later. "Good morning, George."

"Good morning, Mr. President."

"Colonel O'Neill." The President nodded before turning his attention back to the general. "Looking forward to your most important meeting today?"

"Not really, sir." Hammond replied, receiving a pleasant laugh in return.

"Don't worry yourself too much. These really are good and very gifted people."

"I'm sure they are, sir."

"But are they really ready for this?" When both senior officers turned to look at him, the Colonel shook his head, meeting the president's eyes. "If you'll pardon my saying so, sir. This is a lot to take in a short amount of time."

"It is. But they've had much worse, I'm sure. I sent a large number of files over to the Council after they bought it. They've had a few days to take it in, and are really coming to examine the operation here, and probably test the validity of the files."

Both SGC officers blinked.

"Why would they question the files?"

The President sighed, shaking his head. "The N.I.D. has crossed them before. It was very messy, and our relations with them are still trying to recover. So I'm afraid they don't really trust much of anything we send them." After a moment he added, "Which is why I must ask that you make every possible effort to ensure that Senator Kinsey does not attend the meeting."

"I'd be glad to, sir. May I ask why?"

"He would only tick the Slayer off."

"Slayer?"

"You'll probably hear more about that later today... The only other thing I can ask is that you remember that these are truly gifted people. They are underestimated far too often, so don't misjudge them. And please remember that Miss Summers has died twice in the line of duty; saving the world. She may act like a ditz some, or even most, of the time. And she is often more than willing to sit back and let others talk for her. But she is a brilliant warrior, strategist and leader. And an extraordinary champion who deserves our utmost respect." The CEO of the United States frowned, "And do not irritate or offend Miss Rosenberg in any way. That's an order."

"Yes, sir!" Both officers replied, sharing bewildered glances. Suddenly the alarm klaxons began resounding around the base, and both left the room at a run to reach the gate room.

"It's the Tok'Ra, sirs," a technician reported as soon as the high ranking trio entered the room.

General Hammond nodded, his earlier confusion momentarily forgotten. "Open the iris."

* * *

"Everybody ready? For death? Dismemberment? Any other potential fate the double-crossing armed forces might care to dish out to us?"

"They're not going to kill us, Xander." Willow offered with a slight shake of her head, smilingly softly. "And considering how much the President and the Joint Chiefs have been pushing for peaceful and fruitful relations with the Council, it is unlikely that they'll even consider offending us, let alone attacking us."

"True, but it never hurts to expect the worst."

"Since when are you the pessimist of the group?" Buffy asked with an eyebrow raised in bemusement.

"Soldier Boy isn't overly optimistic about anything, and I've been trying to bring him more to the surface lately."

"I noticed." The blonde Slayer informed him, shaking her head. "And there's a bit of Hyena Boy coming out too."

Her one-eyed best friend winced at that, "Yeah, I've been trying to suppress him." After a moment's silence he added, shaking his head, "I still can't believe you were willing to leave Faith and Kennedy in charge of Council Headquarters."

The eldest Slayer shook her head, smiling softly. "I'm sure they're up to it."

"It's not them I'm worried about." Xander insisted, "It's everyone else!"

"Yes," the Head Watcher agreed with a small nod, "Let us hope that they are alive, healthy and whole when we return."

Xander snorted, "And sane."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure they'll be fine. We survived the Old Council, didn't we? Nothing can be worse than that..." Buffy offered, before pausing in obvious thought, "Hey! Wait," she looked at Xander closely, "How would you remember being Hyena Boy feels like, if you don't remember any of it?"

"Perhaps we should be on our way now," Giles suggested mildly, while offering the flustered former-carpenter an amusedly raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, we should." He was quick to agree. "Don't want to be late after all!" he insisted, while snatching the keys to their rental up off one of the hotel's sitting room's tables and hurrying out the door. "I'll bring the car around."

* * *

"Jacob, Selmac," General Hammond greeted, nodding to his old friend and their new allies, "Martouf, what a pleasant surprise. And a convenient one, I must say... though I do not believe we have met?" he inquired nodding politely to the other two Tok'ra that had come through the Gate with the other two, one of whom was carrying a large box.

"It is always a pleasure, General Hammond. The High Council of the Tok'ra sends its greetings." Selmac's replied, before visibly returning control to General Jacob Carter. "George, Sam, and..." his eyes widened as they caught sight of the window to the Gate Control Room. "_Mr. President?_"

"Ah, yes," General Hammond replied, shaking his head slightly, "That would be related to the convenience of your arrival. We were going to be sending out a transmission shortly..."

Major Carter's father raised his eyebrows, "That would have to be an interesting message. What's the problem?"

"Perhaps we could discuss this in the Briefing Room?"

After a moment, the Tok'Ra-Tau'ri Ambassador nodded, "You already know Martouf, this is Anise, one of the Tok'ra's foremost scientists, and her primary assistant, Amarnon."

"We're pleased to meet both of you, and welcome to Earth." The General nodded, "I'm General Hammond," then nodding to each of the members of SG-1 in turn, he continued, "Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, and Teal'c."

Before anything else could be said, one of the technicians in the Control Room called down to them over the loud speaker, "Sir? We just received word from the Gate. The Council Representatives just arrived. The President is waiting for everyone in the Briefing Room...he said the Tok'ra representatives were welcome to come as well."

"Ah, yes," Hammond shook his head before turning back to their guests, "Perhaps we could explain on the way?"

* * *

"Why does it have to be underground?"

"Calm down, Buffy," Giles admonished her gently placing a hand on one of her tense shoulders. "We're meeting the President himself here, it is very unlikely that anything will happen...and the Initiative was located underground as well. Did that bother you?"

"No. That was only a few stories. And I hadn't woken up in a coffin six feet under at that point!" the eldest Slayer hissed quietly, so their marine escort couldn't hear her. But the other three members of their group could, and therefore winced.

"Buffy," Willow offered after taking a deep breath, "the U.S. government has been trying to make amends with the Council and form friendly relations since even before we took over. According to Riley they'd tried working with the Old Council too, and having found us slightly more friendly to the idea, it's very unlikely that they would let anything intervene with the progress we've made so far."

"And besides," Xander added with a shrug, "If we don't check in tonight you already gave Faith permission to tear the place apart."

Buffy frowned, "When did I do that?"

"Well..." he shrugged, "she said she would, and I figured...didn't you?"

"I think we may have discussed the possibility on the way to the airport, Buffy," Giles offered, smiling slightly. Regardless of the fact that he had been objecting to the topic of discussion at the time.

"Oh yeah," the Slayer nodded, "That was right before that jerk in the Ferrari cut us off, right?"

Xander snorted, "I doubt the poor guy will do that again any time soon? Did you have to attack him at the airport, Buff? And how did you even know it was him?"

"One, I did not attack him. I yelled at him. Two, how could you not notice that sweater? It was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen! I thought people who could afford cars like that were required to have a sense of fashion."

"Not necessarily, Buffy," her former full-time Watcher shook his head with a sigh.

"Well, no, not people who are having a mid-life-crisis, but he wasn't even thirty yet!"

Giles glanced at Willow, shaking his head, "I should probably be offended by that, yes?"

"Probably." The witch offered with a shrug, grinning before turning back to the subject at hand, "The base is probably so far underground for shielding purposes, Buffy. It makes sense if you think about the kind of attacks they'd be worrying about."

The Slayer shrugged, glancing around the tiny elevator again as it sank farther and farther into the Earth.

Seeing that logic had done little to reassure their anxious friend, Xander offered, "Besides, if they try anything, Will can just level the place. After removing us from it, of course."

The Witch shook her head, "Of course..."

After a few moments of slightly less tense silence, Xander shook his head again, "You know I'm really glad Andrews not here... He'd be impossible."

"Why do you think we didn't tell him?" Willow asked, one eyebrow raised. "He'd love this but..."

"He might like this a bit too much, yes," Giles offered in agreement, pleased when this drew a chuckle from his still tense charge.

"Finally..." the blonde breathed as the elevator came to a stop and their escort stepped out, leading them away from the tiny elevator...towards another one. "Another elevator!" Buffy demanded, aghast as the marine cleared them for entrance.

"Yes, Buffy," Willow offered with a sigh, "Remember, they have two elevators for security?"

The Slayer frowns, but nonetheless steps into the slightly larger elevator when their escort gestured for them to do so. When he finally stepped in and the doors closed to let them continue their journey, she asked, "How many floors are there, anyway?"

"That's classified, ma'am."

Seeing the Slayer's disgusted look, Willow offered, "#, I think."

"Is she right?" she inquired of the marine, who remained stoically silent. After a few seconds of this she shook her head and turned to her former Watcher, "You know these guys are starting to remind me of the guys in funny hats and red coats in London?"

Giles sighed, "Yes, that's the general idea, Buffy." He replied, making a metal note to never ride in a small elevator going underground with the eldest Slayer again.

"You know we could down size the elevators a little, to save a bit of electricity, and therefore money."

And he might not want to come with the former Vengeance Demon again either...

* * *

"You _**sold**_ the Stargate!" to say Jacob Carter was flabbergast would at best, be putting it lightly. His companions weren't quite as demonstrative in their surprise as the former General was, but they were nonetheless surprised.

"Does your faction of your people not feel the Gate important enough to upkeep?" the new Tok'ra, who had been introduced as Anise, inquired.

"Not at all, at least not all of us. But there are some who either can't see it for the good that it can do or are only willing to back it for personal gain." The President explained with a sigh, shaking his head wearily, "So I sold it to a group that has simply never considered person gain as a factor. That's not their job, and they know it... Even their rather tactless, money-loving accountant knows it." He offered the premier team of the S.G.C. a smile, "They're an interesting bunch, have no doubt about that. And they're good people. Among the best. Once you get used to the changes you should enjoy working with them."

"If they're willing to let us stay on?" General Hammond reminded his superior.

"Yes...I am hoping that that won't be an issue..."

* * *

"What did that alarms mean?" Buffy asked, frowning. "Was that those warning things for the Gate?"

"That's—"

"Classified," the Slayer shook her head, "of course..." she looked at the soldier, and then shook her head again. "Do you have any idea of why we're here?"

"No, ma'am."

"Ah, well...at least there's room for improvement, then." She smiled, ignoring her friends snickering softly in the background as they followed the soldier down the hallway to the meeting.

After a few minutes Buffy frowned and glanced back at her red-haired best friend, before slowing her walk enough to move back beside her and meet her eyes. 'Willow...do you feel that?'

'Yeah...' the witch replied after a few seconds, nodding, a frown also etched across her face. 'They're not demons... but...'

'Aliens?'

'Probably. We are allied to some, remember. And the Jaffa that's part of SG-1, Teal'c, is probably here too...'

'Yeah...one of them isn't as...wrong as the others. But that one also feels more... nasty, too.'

'Of course,' Willow nodded again, 'Teal'c carries an infant Goa'uld to support his immune system. The Goa'uld is not an ally... The Tok'ra are, and their older, so that must be why they feel different...'

'Right...' Buffy nodded, moving up ahead again just as they came to the door of what was apparently their destination. When the soldier knocked and then stepped into the room to announce them she glanced back at the redhead again, 'Keep your guard up...K?'

'Yeah...' the witch frowned, 'should I warn...?' she nodded to their companions.

The Slayer shook her head, 'No, Giles doesn't need to worry about that right now. He's got more than enough on his mind, and Xander is supposed to be handling a lot of the observation and negotiations too. And don't worry about it too much. Remember you're supposed to be analyzing the Gate too.'

'OK...' Willow nodded, sighing softly before following her friends into the room after their escort had stepped aside.

* * *

Everyone looked up at the polite, expected knock on the door.

"Perfect timing," Colonel O'Neill remarked nodding approvingly, before exchanging a slightly nervous glance with the general, who then turned his attention completely back to the door.

"Come in."

A young private who had probably been on guard duty on the service for the morning entered the room and came to attention. "General Hammond, Mr. President, sir's, ma'am's," he greeted all of them smoothly, and only years of experience let the Colonel catch onto the fact that the young private was a little agitated. "The Council Representatives..." he probably didn't know what this 'council' was, "Mr. Giles, Mr. Harris, Ms Jenkins, Ms Summers and Ms Rosenberg."

"Thank you, private, that will be all." Hammond nodded, offering a quick salute, which the young soldier returned before stepping back out of the room and letting their new management enter.

To say they were surprised was, once again an understatement.

Jack exchanged an incredulous look with his commanding officer. Sure, the Giles guy was all right, he'd probably fit right in with all the geeks like Daniel and Carter around, but the others were just kids! They couldn't be older than twenty-five! If that! And the President had essentially placed them in command of the Stargate?

The Colonel sighed.

This was undoubtedly going to be an _interesting_ meeting...

_**

* * *

End Chapter 1.

* * *

**_

**AN: Hi everyone!**

**Sorry about the long wait. I was really kind of stuck, I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around the story for a while.**

**I hope you liked the chapter.**

**Please feel free to offer any advice/suggestions that you may have. Half the problem I had was an inability to come up with good, feasible, and original ideas. Any help would be appreciated.**

**I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.**

**Bye! **

**Jess S**


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